What Makes A Team
by E. J. Noel
Summary: What if after their first Chunin exams, Sakura noticed that she was falling behind? Deciding to do something about it, Sakura changes her ways and starts to focus on her dream of becoming a proper kunoichi. One that Konoha could be proud to call their own. Sakura would not be forgotten, she would stand as an equal in her team and grow strong. – / Non-massacre, eventually ItaSaku. /
1. Chapter 1

_Hi people. I actually posted this story a long time ago, but I found myself lacking time and motivation to give it the focus I wanted. Which is why I am now making another attempt at writing this story. If you have read it before, the beginning has not changed much, as I have tried to keep the old story and plot. However, through the fanfic, I will change both minor and major details._

_This fanfic is sorely focused on Sakura and yes, it is an ItaSaku story, so if you are not into that, then I hope you will still give this a chance. ItaSaku will in no way happen quickly in this story and for now, I have rated it as T (might change later on)_

_My chapters will usually be 4500 words or more._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, I would probably just ruin it if I did._

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_…_

Sakura exhaled deeply while she looked at her teammates sleeping figures. She had wanted to take the first watch. Time alone was not easy to get when in a team, especially not in her team. Lifting her head and shifting her gaze up at the darkening sky, she observed the night taking over, letting the stars shine brighter as more of them appeared.

Almost a year ago, the three of them had become a team. Team Seven. Lead by Kakashi Hatake, she and her two teammates, Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki had become a genin team. And in two months, they would be going to their second chunin exams. The mess that had happened during their first exam had now been dealt with and their Sensei thought they should try again.

Old and ruined buildings had been rebuilt through the last four months and the builders had just finished the new Hokage head. One of their new leader, who swore to protect Konoha.

Sakura had a great admiration for the new Hokage, she was the first woman to take the position and she was one of the legendary Sannin. Tsunade Senju was not a woman to mess with, even though the stories she had heard from Naruto made her think twice about the admiration she held for the woman. And others made her almost fear the woman.

But in the end, it made little difference. Sakura had nothing to complain about, and even if she had, who would listen?

It had taken her some time, but Sakura had noticed it, and now she could no longer ignore it. The problem was so obvious now that she had become aware of it. She had become a hindrance to her team, even more so than she was at the beginning. They had grown so much, both Naruto and Sasuke had trained to exhaustion and their efforts were paying off.

Sasuke came from a prominent and important family, which often shone through his personality and how he treated their work. He was skilled far beyond his years and he knew it, but he did not gloat.

He was a prodigy.

Not in the same way his older brother was, but Sasuke still had more talent than any other genin in the village. He had known how to handle a kunai before Sakura even knew how to read.

And then there was Naruto, a boy whom Sakura had thought would fail before even making it to the rank of Genin. He worked hard, more than both she and Sasuke and Sakura could now understand what Lee always said. A genius of hard work. That was exactly what Naruto was.

To add to his development, Naruto had also formed a bond with Jiraiya, another of the three Sannin who had been written down in books for his many skills and his achievements. He was famous and even more so in the male population, who read his published works.

Not many read the books in public, but there were still some, like her Sensei, who did it.

Sakura had a lot on her mind, one thought shifting quickly to another and before she knew it, she was no longer looking at the sky, but so deep in thought, she had forgotten about her surroundings. Her two teammates were stronger than her. Much stronger.

It made Sakura uncomfortable to think about how large the gap between her and the two others had become, it made her stomach ache in an unpleasant way. She knew that one day, they would both leave her behind and she would stay the way she was.

Alone, a genin, and utterly useless.

Sakura could not fool herself any longer, the day was coming soon and she knew it. Especially now that they had been informed of the upcoming Chunin exams.

The exams were to take place in Suna this time, a way for them to show good faith between the villages, now that Orochimaru had been blamed for the entire thing that happened in Konoha at the previous Chunin exam.

It was hard for her to believe that it had only been four months since she had stood in the middle of something like a war zone. Dead shinobi everywhere, the smell of blood and the screams still kept her up some nights.

Orochimaru had used the Kazekage's body, killed him and taken his place to fool everyone. A fight had broken out in the middle of the last stage of the Chunin exam and even though Sakura had not been at the arena for long, she had seen the barrier the Sandaime had been captured in.

He had died in there, fighting for his village, fighting for his people. And his bravery and strength had not been for nothing, because he had trusted his shinobi to succeed when he failed. And that was the only good thing that had come out of the entire war. Orochimaru was dead.

Sakura had not been there when it happened, no, she had been out with her team, trying to stop Gaara and she had been unable to do anything like usual. Unlike her, the shinobi from Konoha had acted quickly, even without orders from a Hokage.

When Orochimaru had tried to flee, helped by his followers, the Captain of the Anbu had followed and it was then their fates had been sealed. Her own Sensei had even followed the Anbu Captain and helped.

The two of them came back with the five bodies, not looking as if they had just been in a major battle. And Sakura knew who the Anbu was; she had seen him before without his mask. He had saved her life in the Forest of Death, pushing her aside and stopping an oncoming attack before going to his younger brother. The scene that had unravelled had made Sakura both fear and respect the man.

Itachi Uchiha was unlike any shinobi she had imagined could exist. Even with Sasuke refusing to let his brother fight for him, Itachi had gotten them out of the way with his clones and done something to Naruto that made him wake up. He seemed to know why her teammate had been unconscious.

And right before leaving them to finish the exam, his clone had said something to Sasuke, which had made him angry but accept the situation. The days spent in the forest with her team would never leave her mind.

Sakura had no idea how long she had been sitting there, locked in her own thoughts. It was only when he spoke that she flinched and looked up at her teammate who was watching her with tired eyes, "Guard duty doesn't matter if you are not aware," he said calmly and Sakura looked down at her folded hands.

His words strung. He had only called her useless once and she knew he regretted it, but Sakura almost wished he would just yell at her. She was not good enough to be on their team. She stood and brushed off her red qipao and walked past him, ignoring the sudden look of concern he had on his face.

Sasuke would never ask her what was wrong and this one time, she was grateful for his lack of attention. What could she even say? There was no excuse for being a hindrance and simply, a horrid shinobi.

…

Sasuke had been the captain for the short mission they had been on and Sakura kept quiet while he made the official report. A few times, her eyes landed on the secretary, who was writing everything down so that Tsunade could sign it later.

It had been a simple C ranked mission, not involving any threat. They had gone out of the village to find some specific herbs and plants that were needed in the hospital. Sasuke answered the questions but when it came to the plants, he surprised Sakura by looking at her for the answer "I'm sorry Hokage-sama, what was the question?" she blurted out as soon as she understood what was going on.

He wanted her to answer all the boring specifics about the plants, which only she could answer, as she was the one who had gathered them.

"I was asking if everything I put on the list was gathered and if some of them were hard to find. We have to stock up on the herbs we can, as some of them cannot grow here in the city," the words from Tsunade Senju were directed at her now, and Sakura felt herself blush, she had made a fool out of herself in front of her new Hokage by not paying attention.

"There was no problem in locating the herbs, they were in places which matched the description of the environment they would thrive the most in. The already suggested locations were a help, although I have written other places in the report, which seemed to have some of the herbs with better quality," she answered, not even having to think over what she said. Answers like these were basic and for a short second, she was reminded of the Academy. Sakura missed the days where she just had to answer questions to feel accomplished.

The Godaime Hokage of Konohagakure looked at the pink haired genin with scepticism. "How would you know some herbs have a better quality than the others?" she asked, smirking when she saw the girl turn red and straighten her back.

"Uh-uhm," she stammered and looked to her teammates for help, but received none. Golden eyes met green again, and Tsunade raised her eyebrow slightly, seeing a familiar calculating face on the genin. She was reminded of herself.

Gathering up her courage, Sakura answered, "Well, most of the herbs we were asked to collect are usually used in poisons or antidotes, which is why it is important for the plant to be collected with the most water in it. Having to get them at dawn also made it easier to see which of the plants had the best leaves and stems, as they usually have a slightly darker green than others. The places I wrote down had better plants because they were in more secluded areas matching their environmental descriptions. This meant that they would only get the sunlight needed for them and not too much, while also be more likely to be uncontaminated by anything other than nature itself"

Her long answer made Tsunade look at the girl an extra time, there was nothing particularly special about her other than her hair. Although the answer still made a smirk appear on her lips, the girl clearly had a brain beneath her slightly large forehead.

"Very well, Naruto, Uchiha, you are dismissed. Haruno, stay here" the two male genins stared at their teammate with pity in their eyes while they left, not being able to do anything else. Sakura looked at the older woman in the room, then to the secretary, who was still ready to type any words that were spoken.

"For how long have you been a genin?" Tsunade started out by asking, even though she knew the answer. The girl looked ready to kill herself out of pure nervousness and that was not the situation she was aiming for, Tsunade wanted to calm her down. "A-a year," Sakura stammered.

"Well, I know that you are the only one in your team who does not seem to have grown much since then. Have you thought about doing something else with your life?" The question Tsunade asked contradicted her earlier thought to calm the girl, but something about her made the Hokage want to light a fire. The stuttered answer was not something that should come from a shinobi.

"No, Hokage-sama. Both my mother and father are shinobi of this village, I want to follow their wishes," she said. It was true, all Sakura had ever wanted, was to be a Shinobi, but now that she was one, she was seeing the cruel truth. She did not stand a chance.

Having these thoughts register in her mind, she suddenly had a memory in her head, one of Sasuke who had been injured on a mission to Kiri a month ago. That vivid picture in her head did something; it sparked something in her that made her act without thinking, almost as if she was being pushed around inside her own brain.

"Hokage-sama!" she almost shouted at the woman, making the Sannin lift her eyebrow again, this time in surprise. It was clear the sudden change in the Genins demeanour would lead to something interesting.

"Please take me as your apprentice!" Sakura nearly shouted the words and bowed low to keep her head down, in fear of looking at the woman in front of her. "Why in the world should I agree to take another apprentice?" Tsunade answered after a few silent seconds. Sakura slowly went back to standing straight, this time looking directly into the Sannin's smouldering golden eyes.

"I am weak," she started truthfully, "My only strong point is my chakra control, which would be beneficial in medical ninjutsu. I don't want Naruto or Sasuke to leave me behind, I want to stay in team seven!" Her last words had again been spoken in a raised voice, desperate, almost as if she was afraid to be overlooked and forgotten.

Tsunade knew that she could teach this girl something, maybe even enough for her to stand beside her teammates as an equal. It was a chance, a bet on the girl becoming strong and the thing that made Tsunade make her decision was that this bet, she wanted to win.

"Meet my assistant, Shizune, tomorrow at 6 AM." The Hokage smiled at the startled expression on Sakura's face. Her fast decision clearly shocked the child.

"Listen here, girl, every day you are in this village from now on, I will have something for you to do. You have one time in this apprenticeship where I'll let you complain or disobey me. Complain a second time and you're out. I will in no way tolerate you slaking off, being late or forgetting what I just said."

The words were in such a harsh and threatening tone that Sakura almost recoiled, but somehow, she managed to keep her back straight and get her voice under control. "Thank you, Hokage-Sama," Sakura said and bowed deeply again. After, she looked at the Hokage and noticed that the woman was writing something in quick and messy handwriting. When she was done, she folded the two papers and put one of them in a small envelope. Tsunade beckoned for Sakura to come closer and when she did, Tsunade held out the two papers.

Sakura took the folded paper and the envelope, her mind suddenly so hazy that she nearly missed it when Tsunade said, "You're dismissed."

The genin bowed her head quickly, "thank you, Tsunade-Sama," she said and had almost made it to the door when a small chuckle made her turn her head to see the Hokage stand up and give her a small smirk, "Girl, it's Tsunade-shishou now"

...

Sakura had not dared to answer her Hokage with anything other than another nod, which had been a smart thing. Her muscles had been so tense, making her feel weak in the knees when she was finally out of the building.

Looking to her hand, Sakura opened up the folded paper to find three words on it "Training Area 1" and she knew it had to be the place where she would have to meet Shizune, the assistant and apprentice to the Hokage.

The envelope was sealed, but on it, Sakura saw the name of her Sensei and she wondered what the Hokage had written. Not wanting curiosity to get the better of her, Sakura carefully put away the envelope.

Walking through the city, Sakura thought about how much of a disaster her earlier request could have ended in. She smiled and shook her head. Being lucky and determined had worked for her this time, she should be glad and take every opportunity she could to learn from this.

"Sakura-chan!" The call of her name made the pink haired genin turn around, Naruto was running towards her. Sasuke was walking bit further behind him, clearly not bothering to run. "Ne, what did Baa-chan want with you?" he asked eagerly, although Sakura could see the hint of concern in his eyes, which in a way, meant a lot to her.

"No need to worry, Naruto. She just wanted to talk about the herbs, also, she let me get lessons on them from her assistant, Shizune," she said happily, not really revealing everything to them at the moment.

Sakura feared that if she told them that she was going to become an apprentice of the Hokage, they would expect more from her all too quickly. She did not want to overplay her strength; it could get them all killed in the end. And more so, the Hokage might end up ending her apprenticeship when she realized how little Sakura could do.

"Mother wants both of you to come to dinner tonight," Sasuke suddenly said in his usual monotone voice, changing the subject. "Yes!" Naruto shouted excitedly, both Sakura and Sasuke knew how much Naruto enjoyed the home cooked meals and how Mikoto would always give him all the leftover food to take home.

Sakura had often wondered why the woman was so inclined to help Naruto, even though a lot of adults in the village disliked the blonde. Sakura guessed she just saw a boy without parents and in need of some motherly influence. But she also had a few other theories, ones she knew not to voice.

They had been a genin team for nearly a year and it was always Sasuke who had them over for dinner. He said it was because of his mother, Mikoto, who pestered him to have them come visit often.

Sakura knew her own parents had not been as open as Sasuke's, but they had grown to accept her teammates, even though her mother had been against Naruto at first. She would not tell Sakura why, but the young girl had a good idea already as to what the cause was.

Nonetheless, her parents were both career chunin and were not often home, resulting in them always going to the Uchiha compound in their spare time. There, they also used the private training grounds the clan had.

Personally, Sakura found the clan a bit too cold and detached for her liking, but it still had its charm. Plus she knew that her moody teammate actually liked their company now, even if it had not started out that way.

It had helped when Sakura realized how silly her infatuation with him was, not long after the first chunin exams ended. Now they had gotten to a point where Sakura was sure he was actually her friend and not just a teammate.

…

At five in the morning, before the sun had risen, Sakura crawled out of her bed, unsure of why her alarm rang as early as it did. Turning it off, she crawled back into bed, nearly falling asleep again. A shock equivalent to that of lightning tore her up in a sitting position. She had her first training today.

Now fully awake, she got out of her bed, running around her room to find everything she needed. The books about medical ninjutsu were on the floor, having fallen from the bed after she had fallen asleep while reading. Leaving a note for her mother in the kitchen, she took an apple and ran out of the door.

…

Sakura exhaled deeply when she made it to the training ground, a little winded from her run. She was ten minutes early. When she walked closer, her green eyes quickly found the woman she recognized as the Hokage's student and assistant.

The woman observed her closely before asking, "how far away is your home?" Sakura did not see the reason for the question but answered nonetheless. "By the market near the Hyuga compound" her voice was steady and she impressed herself by holding the older shinobi's gaze.

"Do ten laps around the outer city wall, if you are done before your training time with your genin team, we can begin. You have no stamina and that is a crucial step to all shinobi training" her words made Sakura blush. It was true that she had gotten a little winded from the run to the training ground, but she had thought she hid it well enough.

"_You can only complain once" _the Hokage's voice rang in her head, reminding her at what was at stake. She bit her lip and nodded at her new instructor "Yes, Shizune-Senpai". When she made to turn away from the medical ninja, Sakura was stopped.

"Wait for a moment" Shizune began, "I know this is going to be hard, believe me. But follow my advice and do as I say and you will make progress. I promise you. Every morning you are in the village, you will meet me here at six. After that you will run ten laps, how soon you master running ten laps is up to you, but if you slack off, you will not be left with any time for actual training in medical ninjutsu. You're dismissed, for now, I will see you tomorrow morning" and then she disappeared like it was the easiest thing to do. Sakura stood frozen for a few seconds before she forced herself to move towards the gates of the city.

She felt a bit humiliated, and it made her angry. It made her burn with determination and as soon as she walked past the giant gates looming over her, Sakura broke out into a run.

Six rounds were all she had successfully completed in two hours, she was sweating and the fire within her had burned out as if she had been running in the cold rain.

Moving at snail speed towards training ground seven, Sakura felt horrible. Maybe she should give up now? Just ask her Sensei for help instead? Questions tore through her mind, but when she flopped down by the big tree in the training area, she remembered why she had asked the Hokage for help in the first place.

Her own Sensei, Kakashi Hatake was notorious for being late to everything and only showed up on time, when someone thought they could spend their time otherwise while waiting. Naruto had slept in so many times, which usually resulted in them starting training early because Kakashi would show up with the blonde, still half asleep and in his night clothes.

"What happened to you?" Sakura turned to see Sasuke walking towards her, it embarrassed her even further that she had not sensed her own teammate arriving. "I decided to go for a run," her answer did not seem to satisfy the Uchiha, but he said nothing more than "Hn" and walked to sit down a little further away.

After two hours when it was nearing ten, Kakashi showed up, and as always, he was reading his orange book. Then they had sparred and Sakura could feel her body was tired, but she fought through it. When it was the two boys on the team who began to spar, Sakura walked over to her Sensei.

"Kakashi-Sensei, here," she said nothing more, just stretched out her hand with the envelope from the Hokage in it. He took it without asking questions, read it and then looked to his only female student. "Sakura, run fifty times up and down the tree and then do fifty laps on the lake over by training ground eight," She did not ask why, already too tired to put up a fight.

…

A month passed quickly with her always doing the same thing. Running around the village, then sparring, running up and down a tree and then laps on the lake. This was usually followed by a D ranked mission or sometimes an easy C ranked mission before she went home. At night she read all the books she could keep her hands on. After having felt what the training did to her body, she had started on how to treat sore muscles.

Sakura was now able to run the ten laps and get half hour training by Shizune, before she had to meet her team. It made her proud that she could feel the progress and she had also felt the increase in her chakra.

Kakashi had asked her to have lunch with him after one of their D ranked missions, out of earshot from the two male genins on team seven. He had calmly explained to her that he would focus on her taijutsu and her chakra for the time being, as that was what the Hokage has asked him to do.

It would benefit her in the long run and she accepted his words, trying to train herself not to complain. A slip up could cost her the apprenticeship with the Hokage and Sakura did not wish for anything like that now that she was making progress.

…

Sakura sipped her tea as she turned a page in the heavy textbook she had on her lap. Poisons had become very interesting to her and every time she learned something new about them, she saw them to be more and more useful. Already making notes on possible combinations that could cause a variety of different side effects, Sakura was well on her way to understand the basics on poisons and antidotes.

She knew Sasuke had noticed the change in her, although he had not commented on it. She did not know what to make of this but chose to believe that he thought she was allowed some privacy too. Naruto was as oblivious as ever, even if his strength was growing even more than Sakuras own. Whenever she thought about it, she felt a small pang of jealousy within her, even though it also pushed her to train harder at the same time.

Thoughts about being left behind still clouded her mind like a thunderstorm but she was determined to do her best to keep up.

…

"You are advancing fairly quickly" Tsunade commented, looking at the pink haired girl. In a little over two weeks, Tsunade would see her and five other genin teams off as they left for the chunin exams in Sunagakure. The Hokage had been impressed with Sakura's determination and her skill at controlling her chakra, even if her reserves were now in rapid growth, her control was still something some jonin had not been able to achieve yet. It would not surprise Tsunade in the least if this girl got promoted. Tsunade's eyes continued to observe while sweat started to appear on Sakura's forehead. The fish she had been working on sprang back to life and started moving hectically, fighting to get back into the water.

"I think this is all for today, Shizune told me that you have been interested in poisons?" the question made Sakura feel a little unsure of herself, even though she was trying to remove that bad habit of hers. "Yes, Tsunade-shishou. I have been reading a lot about them, but I am still only starting to understand the basics."

Again, Sakura chose to downplay her knowledge, she had no desire for the woman in front of her to start believing she could do more than she was able to. She did not want to let her down.

"Interesting, I think that when you get back from Suna, you can start working with Shizune some evenings in the labs. She is a poison specialist, I will discuss it with her. Maybe I'll even find you a suitable teacher to teach you how to fight with them." Her words made Sakura look at the woman in a whole new light, there was a kindness in her eyes that she had not noticed before and Sakura suddenly felt like crying out of joy.

Even the Hokage sincerely wanted her to get better. Sakura bowed low and the pink stands of her hair hid her face while she said, "Thank you so much, Tsunade-shishou! I will do my best in the exams" A hand was lightly placed on her shoulder, making her look up "Mah, no need to stress yourself. Although, it wouldn't hurt to have another chunin around that can do some of my office work" the tone was slightly teasing, but somehow it still felt as if the Hokage expected her to be promoted.

…

Sakura stared at the rising sun, today she would depart for Suna with all of the others. Her mind was set on returning as a newly promoted chunin.

_…_

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_I hoped you enjoyed this first chapter, I will try to post the other one soon, as I have already started rewriting the story as a whole. Anyways, leave a comment if you feel like it or share an idea with me for the story._

_Until next time._


	2. Chapter 2

_Hi again._

_First of all, thanks to all of those who followed, favourited and reviewed this fanfic. I am happy that some of you are readers of my previous version of this fanfic. Just to let you know, the ItaSaku will be moving a bit slower this time, as I felt the previous attempt I made at the story, made it feel forced. So I hope you will still like it when the story starts to change._

_Anyways, on the to second chapter._

_Also: Does anyone have a better idea for my summary of the story? I don't know what else to write…_

_Disclaimer: I would love to own Naruto, but sadly I never will._

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...

Water.

It was the one thing now flooding everyone's mind. The large group of shinobi had now been making their way through the desert for over six hours, many of them were already slightly dehydrated.

The water was rationed, it was to ensure that none drank too much, although Sakura knew that they should have all been drinking way more than they were. Each person had their own water supply and was in charge of making it last the entire way through the travel.

Two Suna shinobi had met the Konoha delegation on the border to the desert, they had done so because of the dangers of wandering through the vast sand lands without knowing the exact way to Sunagakure. Sakura had e feeling that her Sensei had proclaimed to be unsure of the exact location, just so that he could read his book without having to take responsibility.

The look she had shared with Sasuke, told her that he was well aware of this fact too. Their other teammate, Naruto, had not been aware of anything else than his ability to complain.

"How can I kick ass and become a chunin if I melt before the exams!" he had exclaimed only two hours into their migration through the golden sand. Sakura had hit him over the head, however, not as hard as she usually did. They were all worn out after several days of travel.

"Neh, Sakura-chan, how do you think these exams are going to be? Anything like what we got last time?" Sakura looked towards her slightly shorter teammate only to stop in her track and look properly at Naruto. He was no longer a few inches shorter than her, no, he was taller than her now, and he also looked to have lost a little of the childish features Sakura had become so used to.

She wondered if this had something to do with him getting more nutritious food from Mikoto, and not eating ramen as much. It would make a lot of sense that his change in diet and training would change him. Sakura had been silent for more than a minute and opened her mouth to finally answer when Sasuke cut in.

"Hn. Nothing like the last one. No Itachi here" Sasuke replied instead, and Sakura knew her brooding teammate still held a grudge towards his older brother, for how he had stepped in, in the last Chunin exam.

Sakura focused her green eyes on her teammate, not commenting on how Itachi had saved their lives, choosing instead just to nod and say nothing. She wanted to keep her mouth closed as much as possible, sand was everywhere, in her shoes, leggings, and in her hair, keeping it out of her mouth was a priority.

The sun was low on the sky, almost melting into the sand when the group could finally see the village far away into the distance. An agreement to run the last of the way was passed among the Shinobi, many of them wanting to reach the destination before nightfall and before the cold set in. Both of the Sunagakure shinobi had also suggested that it would be for the best, plus it would give them a more comfortable night in a proper bed.

While the city slowly drew closer, Sakura sent a thought of appreciation out to Shizune. If she had not asked Sakura to enhance her stamina, she would not have been able to do the entire run. Sasuke, Naruto and herself were not even all that winded when they slowed their pace.

Otherwise could be said for three out of the four other genin teams. Of course, the team led by Maito Gai, who had from the very start said that they should all '_enjoy a youthful run to Suna'_, were not even close to tired.

Sakura knew them a little better now, especially Lee, who she had visited in the hospital more than a few times. He had saved her life and she knew she could never repay him. Looking at the genin in the green spandex suit, Sakura narrowed her eyes. Lee should not be participating in this event. He was fresh out of the hospital and was only midway in his rehabilitation. Shifting her calculating gaze to his two teammates, she felt intimidated but willed herself not to show any conflicting emotions on her face. Sasuke had once told her she was too expressive with her emotions, it made her too easy to read.

Team eight was another story, Hinata was catching her breath, Shino was bent over and supporting himself with his hands on his knees, Kiba looked to be the least winded in his team, but he was naturally more fit than his teammates.

Sakura had not yet learned much about the two other teams, one was a year above her and the last, and fifth genin team had graduated two years before her. She had, however, heard enough to know that one from the older team had made chunin. One from their team was from the year before them even. He had to be around fifteen or sixteen years old, Sakura estimated. He was clearly very strong and his tan skin fit well with his shortly cropped brown hair.

"Lee!" the outburst from the sensei in green spandex made Sakura shift her focus again. "I did not see you in front! We shall take twenty laps around Sunagakure as to make up for the lacking youthfulness!" Her brows twitched in irritation, only to become even more irritated when Lee ran to his sensei and bowed deeply.

"Yes, Gai-Sensei! And if I am unable to show the power of youth in this exam, I'll run all the way back to Konoha!" Sakura turned away, already having seen enough.

Nearing the gate, Lee and Gai broke off from to group to complete their run, leaving Neji and an irritated-looking Tenten, with the rest.

* * *

…

"What are you reading?" the question was so unexpected that her pale hands lost their grip on the book she had been holding. Sakura had been so surprised by her usually quiet teammate, asking her a question that she had ended up embarrassing herself.

"Uhh, Tsunade-shishou gave it to me. I have to memorize it all before we get back to Konoha," she had answered him before she had even registered what she was actually saying. Seeing the fine black eyebrow change its position on his forehead, she knew she had to tell Sasuke some of the truth.

"I've decided to learn medical ninjutsu. You and Naruto already have enough power for the three of us, I thought I could be the one who helped you be able to fight." Sakura did not want to reveal how much she wanted to be able to fight alongside them if she did that he would only scoff at her like he had done so many times before. For now, it seemed more plausible for her to tell him that her wish was to simply assist.

Sasuke did not answer, not even giving a sound. It made her nervous and she fiddled with her fingers on top of the book, which was now on her lap again. "I'm still just only able to heal small cuts and bruises," she said in a low voice, not looking at him anymore. Sakura saw his feet move away from her and looked up when she heard the familiar "Hn."

Sakura looked out of her window, it was the beginning of the third day in Suna, meaning the exams would start in two hours. She had not gone out for a run today, wanting to save her energy for what was to come in the near future. Yesterday morning when she had awoken at five thirty, she had gone out for a run. Even with the run from the evening before, she had not felt any need to stop during her ten laps.

The only thing that had been a problem for her was running in the sand. It had been slow at first, until Sakura almost smacked herself for not thinking about it earlier, and then applied a layer of chakra underneath her feet. She had smiled at the idea. It was not as good as training her chakra by running on water, but the difference gave her a challenge, which was its own reward.

Sakura tied her shoulder-length pink hair back, keeping it out of her face while looking at herself in the mirror. She had forgone the usual dress and had chosen to wear sand coloured loose pants and a dark brown shirt, she had wanted her outfit to be as bland as possible.

Chuckling, Sakura imagined how Ino would have reacted if she saw her friend in this. It was practical and comforting, plus her hair drew enough attention as it was. Sakura had no intentions of trying to become a target. Plain was the way to go unnoticed most of the time.

Shortly after, Sakura joined her teammates for breakfast, already aware that she probably had to ignore Naruto a little.

The blonde had indeed asked many questions on her choice of clothes, and in the end, she just hit him in the back of the head and said "Shut up, Naruto!" letting her temper get the better of her. It had felt nice, Sakura had kept her opinions and thoughts to herself for months, doing something like this brought a small smile to her rosy lips. Plus it reminded her of how they were when they first became a team.

* * *

…

Three Konoha genin moved through Suna, all of them looking at the different architecture and culture that surrounded them. Leading, was their Sensei, Kakashi Hatake. As an accomplished jonin of Konohagakure, he strode through the city with his masked face hidden by a familiar orange book. The book was indeed very interesting, but years of training made Kakashi unable to the fidgeting of one of his small genin.

One of his genin had clearly become overly nervous. Kakashi put a hand on the young girl's shoulder for a brief moment to get her attention. Her eyes met his and he saw the worry in them, etched deep into those green eyes.

"Naruto, Sasuke" Kakashi addressed the other two "why don't you go and wait in the hall, I think Sakura needs some last minutes advice" his visible eye twinkled at the boys, but they could feel his intensity and chose to listen. Naruto was about to speak up, but Sasuke dragged him along by his collar forcibly.

"So what is bothering you this lovely, sand-filled morning?" Kakashi said to her, taking a few steps back to sit down comfortably while hiding his book away and motioning for Sakura to take a seat.

"Sensei, I don't want to fail," she whispered when she sat down, unsure of where to look, she stared off into the distance. A small pat on her shoulder almost made her flinch. "Sakura-chan, Sakura-chan. You almost disappoint me" his words cut like a knife, making it hard for Sakura to keep the tears at bay. About to stand up, she was stopped by his following words, "I know you've been practising it every night. Can you show it to me?" the words made the genin freeze up.

Sakura had her own little idea of becoming stronger and had been trying to master something way out of her league. But she had come far within the six weeks she had been attempting it. Reading about the technique was different and more difficult than actually doing it.

Not wanting to fail her Sensei's request, Sakura got up from the bench, closed her eyes and focused. She felt like she was liquefying her chakra and making it slide down into her hands. Focusing on her index fingers, she felt something happen and designed the shape as a picture inside her mind.

Kakashi lifted up his student's right hand to examine closely while using his free hand to undercover his left eye. The chakra that emanated from Sakura's hand was taking a familiar form and he was visibly surprised by her progress.

It had been a long time since Kakashi had heard of a thirteen-year-old having this much control over their chakra. He knew that at thirteen, he had not been able to do the same as her without his Sharingan. And maybe not even with it.

"Sakura, this is more than I expected and also why I am disappointed" he let go of her hand while he spoke, covered his eye again and used his right eye to study her face. "I'm not disappointed because you lack skill or that you fear the exam. Fear is healthy and necessary. I am disappointed because you cannot see how far you have grown. No other genin in this exam is able to do a chakra scalpel"

Kakashi stood up and placed a large hand on her small head "I know it is not nearly sharp enough for the purpose it was created to do. But if you find yourself in a bad spot, remember that this can still cut with enough power in the movement. You know the human body, remember that" his words left Sakura frozen in place. He was not disappointed in her in the way she had thought. Her Sensei had known how much she had been trying to accomplish and thought she did not believe in herself.

"I…" Sakura trailed off, not completely sure of what to say till she looked him in the eye and mumbled, "thank you, Kakashi-Sensei."

...

Sasuke gave her a strange look when she joined them again, although he chose not to comment on the situation. He just gave a polite nod in her direction and then led them towards the meeting room.

"What did Kakashi-Sensei want, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked her as they walked, "Oh, he just knew I was a little nervous and wanted to calm me down" Sakura responded, wishing for her teammate to stop asking questions. "You have no reason to be scared! You have the future Hokage on your team!" Naruto exclaimed this is his normally bold and loud tone. Sakura hit him lightly over the head "remember, this time you promised not to put a target on our backs" she hissed at him.

Images of her last exam came to mind, where Naruto had shouted right at the beginning and made everyone in the room take note of their existence. It had let to Orochimaru finding them rather quickly and Sakura was in no mood for taking chances this time.

Entering the room, Sakura took note of all the people in there, taking her time to think about their villages and possible skills. Not many villages sent their genin to Sunagakure, however, there was still a number of strong opponents, who she thought to be cautious towards.

"Who is the strongest?" The question, spoken in a very low voice from her older teammate broke through her analytic stare, but it did not surprise her like it would have a few months prior.

I think the team from Kiri, the one with the big guy, is the one to look out for. The two women in the team seem to be in a whole different league," Sakura answered, looking to Sasuke to see if he agreed with her answer. Receiving a nod, she knew she had been spot on, meaning that he had the same thoughts as her.

It was nice to be acknowledged like this, the fact that Sasuke asked her opinion would have made her scream a year ago, however, now it made her feel warm for a whole other reason. He had seen how she had looked at their opponents and actually valued her opinion.

The first test was nearly always a written exam. Nevertheless, this was nothing like Ibiki's test.

Every genin team had been handed out papers, were allowed to help each other and talk. There were no seats and they were also allowed to ask other teams for answers. It made Sakura uneasy when the information they got was lacking. It felt wrong that this part of the exam was allowed to be so… unrestrained.

Most teams kept to themselves, although some from the same villages interacted with each other. Others went as far as to threaten for the information, although the guards observing the test quickly stopped the team before the altercation escalated.

Sakura sat with all three test papers, writing the answers quickly and making sure everything was correct. After she had finished, Sakura looked over to Hinata and nodded to her. Both she and Neji had activated their byukugan and were copying the answers from her papers. Sakura was sure that Neji and Tenten could have worked out most of the answers, but this was quicker.

When two hours had passed, the examiner, a young Suna jonin who had introduced herself as Tetsumi, spoke, "Deliver the answers to your nearest chunin guard, remember that you village, name and examinee number should be written clearly on the front" her voice was icy, it left no room for questions and all genin in the room soon followed her request.

There was a lot of pushing and many teams started arguing again, but this time, there was no danger of a fight breaking out, none of the guards had to step in. Sakura waited patiently and delivered the tests to the guard who had been watching the Konoha teams.

"Some of you may question the motives of this test, although it is very simple. Over half of you failed" the words spoken from the jonin in charge made all the genin in the room start talking. How had they failed if they had found all the answers? Sakura thought over the last two hours in quick succession and sighed, realizing how and why some had failed.

Tetsumi then proceeded to explain, "as a shinobi, you cannot always trust the information given to you by someone who is not in your team or from your village. False information could lead to failing the mission and death. Threatening to get the information is a way, but when in a secure environment such as this, it would not have led to answers."

Sakura understood what the jonin was trying to tell them, she herself had been fooled on her very first mission out of Konoha. After having fought Zabuza, Haku had taken his body away. She had chosen to blindly trust the ninja just because of his mask and the insinuation that he was from another hidden village. It had led to another brutal fight and almost to the death of her two teammates and Sensei.

Her eyes flew to Sasuke and Naruto when the jonin started to call out the teams that had failed. The only team from Konoha that had failed was the team who was from Lee's year. One of the boys had tried to get the information from a Suna genin, clearly not thinking about the chance of receiving false information. In a test like this, it is natural to try and sabotage your enemy, making it even more likely that he had received false facts from the other genin.

What they had all been unaware of, was the fact that the chunin guards had been checking if they trusted the information blindly or sought out other answers to the same question.

…

"Good thing that Sakura knows this stuff. Or else we could have been in trouble" Naruto mumbled when they walked out of the room, after having passed the first test of the chunin exam. They were going to meet Kakashi for lunch and then he would lead them to the second exams.

"Idiot, are you forgetting Sasuke has the Sharingan? He could have copied the hand movements from people in the room. And then after filling his own out, we could copy his" Sakura spoke in a matter of fact tone, but clearly not impressed with the blonde who forgot his own teammate's ability. Naruto sheepishly scratched the back of his head "forgot about that. Wait, so did Neji and Hinata do the same?"

He quickly turned his head to look at the two Hyuga clan members, who were walking further behind them in the line of genin teams. "Yes, Naruto. Both of them copied my answers," She answered, shaking her head slightly. Ha had missed what was happening in the room? Naruto was a powerhouse without a brain, in a way it was dangerous.

…

"Sensei, why are you here?" Sakura's question would seem out of place to any onlookers, as almost all the other teams gathered with their Sensei. But of course, those who were not from Konoha would not know about his reputation for being late.

"Mah, mah. Lunch and I just came back from a meeting with the Kazekage" All three genin now focused intently on their sensei. "Who is it?!" Naruto almost shouted his question, he had gotten letters from the Suna team who had been involved in the war at the last chunin exam. Sakura knew that they had received field promotions and were all chunin. Naruto had been extremely jealous and had pouted for a whole day after getting the news.

"Well, he is actually only temporary Kazekage. He is the captain of the intelligence squad, Suna is in great need of properly thought-through plans at the moment. If they make any more risky decisions, it could lead to war." His reply, even though it held a great deal of information compared to many of his normal answers, was vague about the one thing all three genin wanted to know about.

"Temporary? Why is it only temporary, if they need this man he should take the position, shouldn't he?" Sakura was smart, but it still confused her. Someone would almost never act as a temporary leader for such a long time, and it had been a year since Orochimaru murdered the third Kazekage. She bit her lower lip as she thought. Maybe the position was held for someone on a long-term mission. Then again, most would have returned home for the job, just like Tsunade had done. There were not a lot of reasons as to why a Shinobi would be held back.

Like how it was years ago in the academy before the law was passed. If you got parental accept, a child much younger than Sakura could take the genin exam. It had happened with both her Sensei and Sasuke's brother, Itachi Uchiha.

The thought irked her as if something that kept nagging in the back of her mind. They had passed a law in Konoha to stop children from entering the world of violence too early. But the position as Kazekage could not be given to a child, it would be frowned upon. Even if he or she were a little older than her, the shinobi would be asked to wai-

"No!" she fiercely said to her Sensei, realizing how the puzzle in her head fit together.

"I know Naruto said he has changed, but how could he take the job so young? He's only a chunin and the people here fear him!" Sakura was angry because as soon as she spoke, she knew she was right.

The look Kakashi gave her was enough. Sasuke caught on quickly and his normal emotionless face drew into a mix between a smirk and a grimace. "Wait? Did Kakashi-Sensei say something? Who is going to be the Kazekage after this temporary man?" Naruto had taken a hold of Sakura's shoulder and shook her a little to try and get her attention. It was impossible. Her fiery eyes kept contact with her sensei's one visible. But the man closed his eye and said, "I think we should go to lunch now. I have found a place I think we should visit. There is only two hours before the next test, so move along"

Kakashi was already moving, leaving both Sasuke and Sakura to stand alone. Naruto had followed their Sensei, complaining and demanding to get answers. "Naruto is going to be impossible when he finds out," Sakura said, giving up on her own stubbornness and started to follow her Sensei and blonde teammate, who was now a bit away but still visible. Sasuke fell into step with her, and she expected him to give the usual 'hn' but instead, he softly said, "I agree." A small smile played on her lips at his reply, but Sakura made sure he did not see it.

* * *

…

Kakashi had reserved a room for them in a restaurant. He let them order what they wanted, saying "well my hope is that enough food will get you through this exam and make you all chunin" the implied _'and then I am no longer your Sensei'_ was not lost on either Sasuke nor Sakura, but Naruto oblivious and was stuffing his face while had not following the conversation.

When they were full, Kakashi shut his book and this action alone made them all more alert. He was serious now. "I am your Sensei, this means I'll be there to help you if you should need it. I am proud to be your Sensei. Now you are no longer my cute little genin, but shinobi. Even without the chunin title, you three have still done more than many chunin."

Kakashi's words were followed by a long silence. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were wide-eyed and open-mouthed as they looked at their masked Sensei. Sasuke did not really show is as much as the two others, but he had still reacted enough to notice. "Did you guys see if Kakashi-Sensei had anything poisonous on his plate?" Naruto tried to whisper while looking worried. "I am in perfect health" Kakashi commented, not bothering to explain his reason for being kind towards his genin.

No one spoke for minutes, the silence was only broken by Naruto repeatedly turning his head to look from his teammates to his Sensei.

"Kakashi-Sensei… Do not do that again," Sasuke suddenly said, completely breaking the tension. "Do what?" he answered, picking up his book and slowly flicking through the pages to find the spot where he left off.

Kakashi walked in front of his students, who had still not completely recovered from the situation at the restaurant earlier. "The second test is as always, going to test you in battle and in tactics. Just remember that you are a team and two cannot continue without the third." When he said this, they came to a stop in front of a large tent, right beside a small space in the mountains that were a part of the wall around Sunagakure.

"I cannot go any further, on the other side of the tent, many other genin will be waiting. Good luck." And then he became a cloud of smoke. Sakura wondered if it had been a shadow clone the entire time or if their Sensei had actually been present. Choosing not to think about it, she followed her two male teammates towards the tent.

The jonin, Tetsumi, stood by a table with two chunin, all looking very serious. "Good, you're on time. I heard about Kakashi Hatake from another jonin. You would have been disqualified if you came five minutes later" her harsh words made Sakura nervous, but also angry, Her Sensei had such a reputation for being late that it affected how other jonin viewed them.

"Please write all the necessary information down here and sign it" they were handed papers which stated that Suna would not hold any responsibility if they would be permanently damaged or killed.

Sakura knew that they had signed similar papers in Konoha and that some genin had been killed, but the reality of her possibly dying was setting in. A hand was on her shoulder and Sakura's eyes med shining blue ones. Naruto just nodded and turned to sign his own paper in very sloppy handwriting.

"Good," Tetsumi said as she took their now signed papers and put them into a folder. "This is the second test and as you know, we decide how it is going to be played out. This test will last precisely twenty-four hours. No more, no less. If you have not completed the mission, you are all disqualified." Looking at them with her grey eyes, Sakura noticed that Tetsumi was actually a beautiful woman, it was just hard to see with her serious face.

The jonin, now sure that they were listening, continued, "You will get this coin" she handed Sasuke a big golden coin, assuming that he was the leader. "You will need three to pass the exam, each member of your team must have one in their possessions when time runs out. There are a few hidden within the maze but do not count on finding them easily. Remember that each team has one coin to start with. Good luck."

They all nodded at the explanation and followed a chunin, who led them to a door within the city wall. He led them in through the door and into a hallway, which had almost no light. "In this part of the wall, the thickest part, we had someone create a maze for this purpose. There are three floors and when the time is up, a Suna jonin or your own sensei will find you. The coins have trackers, so do not worry about this." While he had spoken, they had been led down the hallway and now came to a door that held the number 19. "The door will open and close automatically" he did not say anything else, he just gave them a swift nod and walked back the way they had come from.

"How dark do you think it is in the maze?" Sakura said, not bothering to direct her question towards one of the boys. "Very" Sasuke answered, holding up the coin in front of his eyes, activating his Sharingan.

"A tracker usually holds a small portion of chakra, right?" He asked her in return "Yes. That is why it is hard to place it on most shinobi, there could be a chance they would sense it," she said while looking at his actions, her eyes widening a fraction when she saw what he was doing.

"Can you see it?" Sakura asked, taking a step towards the coin and stared at it. It was not very big, but larger than the average coin and thicker. "There are already two other pairs of eyes that can see them. Mine, as it seems, can too. It is weak, but if it's nearby, I'll see it" His long sentence made Naruto whistle, "Man you can talk. Something must be in the water, what happened to you and Kakashi-sensei?" both Sakura and Sasuke ignored him.

"How many teams do you think will go after us because of your eyes?" she asked nervously, but the reassuring smile from Naruto somehow helped calm her. "Not many. The two Hyuga clan members are the targets for now" "I hope Hinata is going to be okay, also Lee. I still owe him for the last exam," Sakura said and Naruto looked sheepish, it had been his and Sasuke's fault that she had been left totally alone against a three-man genin team.

The two had been arguing after having seen Itachi, dressed as the Anbu Captain. Sasuke was livid, he had been about to fight someone and his brother had stepped in. Even if the bastard was a Sannin, it was the whole situation that made Sasuke angry.

Naruto had in return, gotten angry with Sasuke for being angry. Their fight let them to run through the forest, Sakura being left alone with their backpacks tried to set up camp for their first night, when three Sound genin had found her. They had wanted to take her hostage and make her teammates give them the scroll. Sakura had been frightened but had chosen to fight.

Lee had stepped in as she had cut her hair to get free from the girl called Kin. Her left eye was blue and Sakura could hardly put any of her weight on her right foot. When Lee had gotten beat up, the rest of his team found him at the same time as Sasuke and Naruto returned. Sasuke had moved so quickly in his rage and had almost killed one of the boys on the opposing team.

It had ended with team Gai taking Lee away, as Naruto hoisted Sakura up on his back, while Sasuke took their belongings. The sound team had gone with the peace offering of their scroll.

Sakura looked to Sasuke, it was clear that all three of them had just remembered the entire scene. "That will not happen again," Sasuke said, while meeting her eyes. His Sharingan was still on and his red eyes frightened her, but she knew that he meant every word. He had never said it to either her or Naruto, but Sakura knew he felt responsible for what happened that day. It was also one of the events that really made them into a team. Sasuke and Naruto had fought for her that day, even though they had been late. They had protected her.

"Sasuke, I-"

Sakura was cut off when the door suddenly swung open, revealing only darkness.

...

* * *

...

_Sooo… this was a bit later than planned, I'll try to post the third chapter soon. I hope my work schedule will not leave me totally exhausted. :)_

_I also hope you enjoyed the chapter and want to follow my story as it develops._

...


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